Foundation for Women’s Health Grant

The Foundation for Women's Health is a nonprofit research fund created to close longstanding gaps in women's health research. The organization identifies understudied and underfunded research questions across the female life cycle, from adolescence through menopause and beyond, and funds research intended to improve women's lives and advance gender equity in health. Its third annual Request for Applications seeks innovative studies that optimize the health of girls and women, with emphasis on diseases and health issues that impose substantial burdens on women while receiving comparatively low levels of public and private research funding. The current funding priorities encompass five research areas. Menopause and Brain Health includes investigation of the neurological transition of menopause, including cognitive changes, mental health impacts, and sleep disorders. Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain includes research into causes and mechanisms, including genetics, immune dysfunction, environmental factors, and disease-modifying treatments, including non-hormonal options. Miscarriage research may investigate causes including human fetal tissue research, endometrial health, and the immunology of implantation. PMOS, or Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, includes research into pathogenesis and pathophysiology and development of disease-modifying treatments. Adverse Childhood Experiences research focuses on biological, neurological, and psychosocial mechanisms underlying sex-specific differences in relationships between ACEs and mental and physical health outcomes among girls and women. Grant awards range from $200,000 to $300,000, and projects may have terms of one to two years. FWH permits up to 15 percent of funding for a specific project to be used for general operational, administrative, overhead, or other indirect costs associated with that project. The indirect cost limitation applies to both primary award recipients and subawardees. Indirect costs must be identified in the project budget and may not be charged against equipment costs or travel. General operating support grants and endowment grants are not eligible for indirect cost recovery. The source does not state a matching or cost-sharing requirement. Eligibility is limited to nonprofit institutions, and FWH cannot make awards to institutions outside the United States. However, the population being studied may be located outside the United States. A principal investigator may submit up to two applications in a funding cycle. Applicants who do not hold a faculty appointment at the Associate Professor or Professor level must provide additional mentor documentation, including an NIH biosketch for the sponsoring mentor and a letter from that mentor stating that adequate support is available to complete the research. No additional support letters will be accepted. Applicants must submit all required documents together as a single PDF file by email to info@foundationwomenshealth.org. The submission must include applicant contact information, a one-page letter of intent, and the applicant's NIH biosketch. The letter of intent must contain a summary of current research, long-range research goals and plans for future research with specific aim or aims included in bold, and a brief budget overview explaining how FWH funds will be used and identifying any existing funding for the project. Applicants below the Associate Professor or Professor faculty level must additionally provide the sponsoring mentor's NIH biosketch and the required sponsoring mentor support letter. Applications will be reviewed by the Foundation for Women's Health Medical Advisory Board. Finalist selection criteria include the potential of the applicant's work to advance women's health research, including assessment of feasibility, methodology, and potential impact; the applicant's credentials; and alignment with the mission of the Foundation for Women's Health. All letters of intent must be received by September 8, 2026. Selected finalists will then be invited to submit a full proposal by the end of 2026. A specific finalist notification date and exact full-proposal deadline are not provided. FWH states that it posts Requests for Applications annually. Its Medical Advisory Board reassesses the women's health research funding landscape each year and identifies areas that remain especially underfunded while imposing substantial burdens on women, so funding priorities may change from year to year. Based on the annual cycle and the September 8, 2026 letter of intent deadline, the next cycle is anticipated around September 2027, although no specific date for that future cycle has been announced. Program questions and complete applications may be directed to info@foundationwomenshealth.org.

Emphasize feasibility, methodology, and potential impact on women's health; demonstrate strong applicant credentials and clear alignment with the Foundation for Women's Health mission; directly address one of the five stated funding priorities; keep the LOI to one page and include specific aim(s) in bold; clearly explain how FWH funds will be used and disclose existing project funding; submit all required documents as one PDF.